THE DOGS OF WAR

Somewhere between 2.6 and 3.8 million American men and women
served in Vietnam during the years 1965 through 1971, the years
when chemical herbicides were being used to denude the jungle and
destroy enemy crops. Military records do not allow a more
accurate determination of the true number who served. [1]

Alongside the humans serving in Vietnam, there were 3895 military
working dogs, almost all of them purebred German shepherds. [2]
(Among the 3895, there were 64 Labrador or golden retrievers used
as trackers; the other 98.3 percent were German shepherds.)
These dogs served as scouts, sentries, trackers, mine detectors,
and tunnel explorers. About 91% of these dogs were "intact"
(uncastrated) males.

When a military working dog dies, regardless of the circumstances
of death or the duty location, an autopsy is performed by a
veterinarian, and a standardized set of tissue specimens and
organs are sent to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in
Washington, D.C.

During the late 1980s, researchers compared autopsy records of
1167 military working dogs with Vietnam service against autopsy
records of 791 military working dogs who served in the
continental U.S. and saw no Vietnam service. In a separate
study, the stateside dogs were also compared to 437 dogs that
died in Okinawa, because many dogs that served in Vietnam were
sent to Okinawa after the war. [3]

These studies showed that dogs who served in Vietnam were about
twice as likely (1.8 times as likely) to have cancer of the
testicles, compared to military working dogs who served only in
the states. Likewise, military dogs that died in Okinawa were
about twice as likely (2.2 times as likely) to have testicular
cancer as dogs who served only in the states. A separate study
was then conducted, excluding the dogs who had testicular cancer.
Among the non-cancer dogs, there was clear evidence of
significant deterioration of the testicles in those dogs who
served in Vietnam (compared to dogs who served only in the U.S.):
degeneration of the testicles, atrophy (shrinking) of the
testicles, and evidence of a below-normal ability to produce
sperm.

Dogs have often served as sentinels of human disease. Back in
1938, the well-known researcher W.C. Hueper showed that
beta-naphthylamine caused bladder cancer in dogs. [4] In 1954,
researchers showed that another industrial chemical,
4-aminodiphenyl, produced bladder cancer in dogs. [5] In 1980, a
study of 8760 pet dogs showed that bladder cancer in dogs
correlated with residence in industrialized counties in the U.S.
and Canada; this same study showed that bladder cancer in men and
women was similarly correlated with residence in industrialized
areas. "The findings of this study suggest that the bladder
cancer experience of pet dogs resembles that of human beings
living in the same general locale," the study concluded. [6]

Pet dogs are particular relevant in such studies because 40
million pet dogs share their owner's domestic environment yet do
not indulge in behavior that could confuse or confound the
interpretation of epidemiologic studies: dogs don't smoke, and
they usually don't work. In 1983, a study of pet dogs with the
asbestos-related lung disease, mesothelioma, showed that their
disease correlated with household members who (a) worked in an
asbestos-related job, or (b) had an asbestos-related hobby or (c)
applied flea powder to their dog. [7]

For these reasons, the finding of testicular cancer and
testicular dysfunction in dogs who served in Vietnam was an
eye-opener, and it soon led to a comparison of 271 human veterans
with testicular cancer to 259 veterans without testicular cancer,
to see whether Vietnam service was related to testicular cancer.
This study revealed that, like dogs, human veterans of Vietnam
were about twice as likely (2.5 times as likely), to have
testicular cancer compared to veterans who did not serve in
Vietnam. [8]

Naturally, the question occurs, what aspects of military service
in Vietnam caused testicular cancer in men, and testicular cancer
and dysfunction in military working dogs?

An obvious suspect is Agent Orange, which was sprayed in large
quantities (11.2 million gallons, or 42.4 million liters) over
3.6 million acres (1.5 million hectares) of Vietnam. Agent
Orange, named for the orange stripe on its 55-gallon storage
containers, was a 50-50 mixture of two herbicides: 2,4,5-T and
2,4-D. One of these, 2,4,5-T, was banned in the U.S. about 1980
because evidence indicated that it could cause birth defects in
humans; the other half of Agent Orange, 2,4-D, remains in wide
use throughout the U.S. where it is popular for killing
dandelions and other broad-leaf plants in lawns, and as an
agricultural weed killer.

During manufacture, the herbicide 2,4,5-T becomes contaminated
with dioxin unavoidably. According to the National Academy of
Sciences, the average dioxin contamination in Agent Orange in
Vietnam was 2 parts per million (ppm). An estimated total of 368
pounds of dioxin was sprayed onto Vietnam's land and people
during the 7-year spray program. [9]

However, a recent study of Vietnam veterans that tried to
estimate 2,4,5-T exposure and link it to testicular cancer found
that only Navy men had elevated levels of testicular cancer
associated with 2,4,5-T exposure; men in the other services
showed no such effect of exposure to 2,4,5-T. [10] The authors of
that study speculated that Navy men might also have been exposed
to fuels (oil and gasoline), which previous studies have linked
to testicular cancer.

The other half of Agent Orange, herbicide 2,4-D, is also a
suspect. Although the manufacturers of 2,4-D claimed for years
that their products were not contaminated with dioxin, this claim
has now been shown to be false, using the manufacturers' own
data. [11]

Dioxin has been shown to damage the reproductive organs and
systems of many animal species, including men and women. [12]

A study of pet dogs in the U.S. found excess cancers (lymphomas)
associated with 2,4,-D lawn spraying. [13] And a study of 32
farmers who sprayed 2,4-D, compared to a control group of 25
unexposed farmers, revealed significant effects on the exposed
farmers: diminished sperm count, increased number of sperm with
poor motility (swimming ability); increased numbers of dead
sperm; and increased numbers of malformed sperm. [14]

No federal agency keeps close track of pesticide use in the U.S.;
however U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that
farmers apply 25 to 30 million pounds (11.3 to 13.6 million
kilograms) of "active ingredient" of 2,4-D each year in the U.S.
Non-agricultural use of 2,4-D in the U.S. is estimated to total
another 12 to 15 million pounds (5.4 to 6.8 million kilograms) of
"active ingredient" per year. [15] The "active ingredient" of a
pesticide is only 0.5% to 5% of the total formulation so these
"active ingredient" amounts must be multiplied by anywhere from
20 to 200 to get the total 2,4-D formulation used each year. The
bulk of the formulation is secret ingredients (called "inerts")
which are, themselves, often toxic solvents. [16]

Other chemicals suspected of causing testicular cancer and
dysfunction in dogs and humans who served in Vietnam are the
antibiotic tetracycline and the pesticide malathion. Many
military dogs in Vietnam suffered from ear infections and other
diseases. [17]Therefore, many received one or more doses of
tetracycline during their tour of duty. Tetracycline is strongly
absorbed by sperm in mammals, and is known to cause testicular
atrophy (shrinkage), and diminished sperm quality in humans and
dogs.

The other suspicious candidate is malathion. The same military
unit that sprayed Agent Orange also sprayed DDT and malathion
extensively in the vicinity of U.S. troops, to reduce the dangers
of malaria carried by mosquitoes. It has been reported that 44%
of the land of southeast Asia, mainly Vietnam, was sprayed with
malathion during the war. [18]Furthermore, military working dogs
in Vietnam were dipped in a 0.5% solution of malathion to kill
disease-carrying ticks. Malathion is known to cause testicular
atrophy and damage to the sperm-generating cells of laboratory
animals. [19]

Malathion is widely use throughout the U.S. today for mosquito
control though not for fear of malaria. Mosquitoes are simply a
nuisance. EPA estimates that 4 to 6 million pounds (1.8 to 2.7
million kilograms) of "active ingredient" of malathion are
sprayed in the U.S. each year. The yearly total of malathion
formulation sprayed is, again, 20 to 200 times this amount.

Sperm count in men throughout the industrialized world appears to
be dropping. (See RHWN #343 and #432.)
Testicular cancer is the
most prevalent cancer among white males between the ages of 25
and 34 years and the second most common in the 35-to-39 age
group. The causes of testicular cancer are thought to be
environmental because the rates vary widely from one location to
another. During the last 15 years, the rates have increased
rapidly (2.3% to 3.4% per year) in many industrialized
countries. [20]

It may take scientists many decades to tell us all we would like
to know about a complex chemical like dioxin, or malathion.
However, we already know enough to act: To guide our personal
choices, and new public policies, to minimize the danger to
ourselves, our families, and our communities, we need only to
remember that chemicals not used cannot cause harm. This we can
learn from the dogs of war.
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--Peter Montague
===============[1] Harold Fallon and others, VETERANS AND AGENT ORANGE: HEALTH
EFFECTS OF HERBICIDES USED IN VIETNAM (Washington, D.C.: National
Academy Press, 1993), pg. 3-1.